Howard Reich, chronicler of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, to speak at OU

The Cis Maisel Center for Judaic Studies and Community Engagement at Oakland University will present “A Conversation with Howard Reich” from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, in Oakland Center Founders Ballroom A. 

During the last four years of his life, holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel met with Reich to discuss the subject that linked them. Both Wiesel and Robert Reich, Howard’s father, were liberated from the Buchenwald death camp on April 11, 1945. The friendship that developed between Howard and Wiesel became a partnership. Their conversations about the Holocaust and its consequences became the basis for Howard’s book, “The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel.”

The book, and the experiences that led to its creation, will be the subject of Howard’s talk at OU. Copies of the book will be available for purchase, and a book signing will follow the presentation. Light refreshments will also be served.

The event is sponsored by the Holocaust Memorial Center and the Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit. Register for the event here. 

Howard has covered music and the arts for the Chicago Tribune since 1978, joining the staff in 1983. He has written six books and co-produced and written three documentary films. He served on the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in Music four times, including the first time a jazz composition won, Wynton Marsalis’ “Blood on the Fields,” in 1997. Howard graduated from Northwestern University as a piano performance major, completed graduate studies there in music theory and history, and holds two honorary doctorate degrees.

For more information about the event, contact Traci Fultz at (248) 370-2173 or [email protected].